Footwear And Clothing

Shoes should be of suitable size and shape to permit comfort in walking—sufficiently large to allow use of one pair of heavy socks, but close fitting enough to prevent slipping at the heel.

Scouts should avoid the agony of breaking in new shoes. Hiking is done best in old shoes with high tops and strong soles. When canvas-topped rubber shoes are worn, they should be of the heavy soled, arch-supported, reinforced type, especially adapted for hiking. Thin-soled, tennis (sneaker type) canvas shoes should not be worn for hiking. They give little support, cause hot feet, blisters and fatigue.

If blisters or cuts appear on heel, apply antiseptic and protect with sterile dressing. Do not open a blister.

Feet and socks should be kept clean and dry. (On an overnight camp, wet shoes should be dried out at night by stuffing them with paper, shavings, hot oats, or any flexible material that will take up the moisture and prevent shrinkage. Keep away from fire.)

Clothing should be loose-fitting around knees, waist, shoulders and neck.

Drinking Water

Epidemics of typhoid fever have been traced to perfectly clear springs so located that their purity was taken as a matter of course.

A thirsty boy, or a man for that matter, asks too few questions and takes far too much for granted. The education of the boy who is to become a hiker and camper must begin on this subject as soon as he becomes a Scout and be continued at not too remote intervals during his years of outdoor experience.

The problem of purifying small quantities of water to be used for drinking purposes is one of the most important and at the same time one of the most difficult that presents itself to Scouting because it is one that involves so many factors.

To tell an individual Scout about to go on a camping trip that water must be boiled before it is used is to give advice that will but infrequently be followed. A thirsty boy is not too likely to wait for water to boil and cool, certainly not if there is a cold, clear and inviting spring or a sparkling stream close at hand. On a hot day, boiling water may take hours to cool to the point where it will be acceptable, and thirst creates a demand that is not likely to be denied for that length of time.

For several years Halazone, a preparation for making small quantities of water safe for drinking, has been standard equipment in all Scout First Aid kits. One or two of these tablets will, according to information available, render water suspected of being polluted, fit for human consumption.

Tincture of iodine may also be used for this purpose and the following is qouted from a letter from the United States Public Health Service on the subject:

"It is important that all Boy Scouts be impressed with the dangers of indiscriminate drinking of water from any or all sources. The Scout on a hike may well be equipped with a canteen filled with water from sources of unquestionable sanitary quality. He may also be provided with tablets containing chlorine or chloramine for the disinfection of water from questionable or unknown sources. Two drops of a 3% per cent solution of iodine will also disinfect a quart of water. The time element in either treatment is important as at least 20 minutes should be permitted to lapse before drinking the sterilized water."

"Tested Spring," and they all drink thirstily. a thirsty boy asks too few questions and takes far too much for granted.

Tincture of iodine in both the standard U.S.P. strength and in the half (3% per cent) strength is carried in many kits by those Scouters who prefer it to other antiseptics for first aid use, and here is another use to which it may, when necessary, be put. It must be remembered that iodine in solution gains in strength as the alcohol in which the crystals are dissolved evaporates. Care must be taken that the dosage is not too great.

For the guidance and protection of Scouts let us then bring to their attention the following ways of assuring safe drinking water, away from known sources of a pure supply:

1. Carry a sufficient quantity of the home supply along for immediate needs in a canteen, a desert water bottle, or a tank.

2. Add Halazone tablets, one or two to a pint of water, permit it to stand for 30 minutes before using.

3. Add iodine, one or two drops to the quart, and permit to stand for 20 minutes before using.

4. Boil 5 minutes and pour from one vessel to another to aerate. Cool over night in canteens, water bags or other sterilized containers.

You should correct any erroneous idea that the Scouts of your Troop may have that water which has been frozen on its surface is pure, for that is not the case.

Hike Courtesy

It should be the aim of each Scout to behave in such a manner on the hike that he will be welcome over the same trail again. The example of the leader plays a decisive part here.

Common courtesy on the road should be expected, and property rights should be carefully preserved.

Obey all "Keep Off," "Private" and "No Trespassing" signs.

Fences are put up to keep somebody out or something in—not to be climbed by over-eager boys. If you have permission to trespass at all, use the gates and close them after you, or even better, leave them as you found them.

Nothing justifies a Scout crossing a planted field or a meadow before mowing. To do so is to destroy a man's crop.

Animals are property also, and often a part of the food supply. Horses in fields are there to rest up for hard work. Cows yield better milk when unworried. Never let the boys chase or worry them. Do not pass through fields where bulls, studs, boars, or live stock with young may be grazing.

Woodlands are crops. Scouts are interested in conserving them, not in marring or destroying them.